Anouska's Favourites



She likes cats..

..dogs..

 

..oranges..

 



..dancing..



..crazy dancing..

 

..squeezing her foot into a tiny Thomas Sabo slipper?!?





First day at Playgroup

4th January (Tue, 11:30am) - It's Anouska's first day at Creative Thinkers and also an exciting day for our family - all of us have gone to the school, stood aside and watched her.
Anouska's performance today:
Playing time - Took initiative...
Painting - She enjoyed this the most!
Eating - Actually ate on her own...
Singing & Dancing - Tried to follow in parts...
Story time - Lost interest and just ran around on her own!
Socialising with other children - Haven't made any friends yet.
                                     

Thank you Ms. Sakinah, Ms. Wu and Ms. Assistant for looking after my daughter.

2nd Birthday

We just celebrated Anouska’s 2^nd birthday on 18 December. She was very much looking forward to this day, especially when we have been telling her that she would be able to blow candles and cut a cake, play with friends and open presents. TK and I made this poster for her, so that when she is older, she will be able to see her growing up pictures and all the well-wishes from us.

We were in the bedroom when the guy came to set up the slide. I fed and bathed her before letting her out of the room. She was thrilled to see the slide sitting in the living room. However, she was also a little scared to play on it. She enjoyed her companionship with Chloe and Jayden very much. It was very sweet to see them hold hands and pose for the camera together. Happy birthday Anouska!

Thank you notes:

Moo Moo round cake and Animal Theme cupcakes from The Sweetest Moments - Cupcakes are more kid-friendly as they are too young to use the fork. Munch Munch!

Rental of slide and balls from Party Factory – Kids love it.

High tea catering from Stamford Catering Services

  

New Zealand Spring Experience 2010

19^th November (Fri) – Mom reached Singapore and I worked from home today. Anita called and wanted me to prepare a yearly scorecard report for David. Pa & Ma flew to Perth today to attend Bi’s graduation ceremony on the following day.

20^th & 21^st November (Sat & Sun) – Mom, Mei, Hia, Anouska and I departed at 2115 from Changi Airport T3. This was Anouska’s first flight and it turned out to be quite stressful because she was crying almost the whole journey – mainly did not sleep well and she refused to put on the safety belt! It was a 9-hours flight and we reached Auckland at 1205 local time. New Zealand was 5 hours ahead us. We picked up our car at Avis Car Rental at the airport. After an hour’s drive, we checked into Celestion Waldorf Hotel. Pa, Ma, Bi and Kim already reached Auckland early in the morning.

22^nd November (Mon) – Our first stop on our itinerary was taking Fullers ferry to Waiheke Island (about 45 minutes cruise). We went for the 1.5 hours scenic tour of the island. After lunch at the island, we caught the ferry back to the Fullers Pier 2. We then walked to Auckland’s icon, the Sky Tower (the tallest building in New Zealand at 328m) – I would never dare to face the fear of sky jumping off the Tower (192m) but would definitely try the Skywalk around the pergola (360 degree) next time. We then took a shuttle bus to the Fish Market and Hia made a meat feast at the hotel – still good at cooking, however the fish we bought was not quite what we expected!

23^rd November (Tue) – We checked out of Celestion and drove off to Lake Taupo. Pa was not feeling well and Hia had a small fight with a pharmacist who refused to sell any antibiotics without a prescription. We got to see the 6 different styles of gardens when we stopped at Hamilton Gardens, Waikato after 2 hours’ drive from Auckland. After that, we were rushing to catch the last entrance at 4pm into the Waitomo Caves – we sat on a little boat, quietly looking at the wonderful glow worms. After saying goodbye to the worms, we continued our journey to Lake Taupo. We enjoyed the beauty of the landscape along the way. It started to rain when the sky turned dark and finally we reached Cascades Motor Lodge at Lake Taupo. Well done to the Yeo drivers!

24^th November (Wed) – Cascades is just by the lake and Lake Taupo is as big as Singapore Island – according to Google!  After breakfast, we went to shop for some warm clothes. In the afternoon, we were off to Wairakei Park along Waikato River. We went for a geothermal walk at the Craters of the Moon – with abundant fumaroles, mud pools, steaming grounds, explosion craters and colourful soils. We completed the loop walk in an hour. We also went to Wairakei Natural Thermal Valley – another thermal walk. Mei and I did not manage to try out the Hukafalls Jet – next time then!

25^th November (Thu) – We checked out of the Cascades and went fishing on a boat that we rented. The Yeo men each caught a rainbow trout. The trouts we caught were our starter, we had one as sashimi, one grilled with butter and the other one cooked by a restaurant called Plateau – Yum-yum but pricey (NZD15 per head)! I was attracted by the colourful hot springs at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. According to the guidebook, the colors change depending on the temperature. After an hour’s drive, we reached Rotorua and checked into Regent of Rotorua Boutique Hotel & Spa. Before we went for dinner, Anouska was playing at a big playground for a while and ever since she constantly demanded to go to playgrounds.  

26^th November (Fri) – We went to Te Puia, explored the Whakarewarewa thermal valley, Kiwi house and Maori heritage. We tried the Kapiti Ice Cream there and it was delicious – probably made from the fresh cow’s milk. We got back to the hotel to check out Pa and also bring him lunch. Hia felt that Anouska’s body was hot and took her temperature. She actually had a high fever despite acting normally. We rushed her to a hospital. She was quite cooperative when the doctor examined her. She had been dehydrated; the poor little 2-year-old had been happily following us running up and down the many places under the strong and hot sun!    

27^th November (Sat) – Tried the jet boat with Mei. Erm… still want to try the Hukajet next time. We checked out of the Regent and proceeded to the Rainbow Springs – they have trout pools, Kiwi encounter and farm animals… Our next stops were the Blueberry farm and Hobbiton movie set & farm. NZD65 was just too pricey to see the Hobbit holes and the tree. However, Anouska had a lot of fun getting intimate to the sheep. Another 2 hours’ drive, we reached Auckland and checked into Celestion again. We went back to the hotel after our dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Anouska could not wait to give Ma the birthday gift we bought for her; hope she likes the bag!

28^th November (Sun) – Today was our last day of the trip, we had breakfast at BARABRA at Princes Wharf – their coffee, Panini and pizza are ‘All Good’! Pa, Ma, Bi and Kim flew back to Perth after that. We visited Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium. We drove out of the city along Tamaki Drive and went up to Arataki Visitor Centre, where there was a giant outdoor photo frame! Anouska got to relax and play at the children’s area at the centre. Later we went to buy some souvenirs – I have to admit I am not good at buying souvenirs. My dilemma is always whether I was buying enough! We had dinner at Gion Japanese Restaurant, Parnell – love the fresh oysters! We departed Auckland at 0115 on 29^th November! E noho ra Auckland!

Persons who made the trip memorable!

Ah Pa – Thank you for sponsoring this trip

Ah Ma – Thank you for preparing the delicious breakfasts

Mom – Thank you for helping to look after Anouska

Mei – Thank you for organizing the trip

Kim – Thank you for capturing the beautiful memories

Hia & Bi – Thank you for being our drivers

Anouska – Thank you for being a good girl, mummy rates your behavior 8 out of 10 this time